Extend social protection: combat child labour! World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June 2014

Social protection is both a human right and makes sound economic and social sense. Social protection enables access to education, health care and nutrition and plays a critical role in the fight against child labour. This year, World Day Against Child Labour draws attention to the role of social protection in keeping children out of child labour and removing them from it. In 2013, at the III Global Conference on Child Labour in Brasilia, the international community adopted the Brasilia Declaration, which stresses the need for decent work for adults, free, compulsory and quality education for all children, and social protection for all. Echoing those priorities, World Day 2014 calls for:

Action to introduce, improve and extend social protection, in line with the ILO Recommendation No. 202 on social protection floors.

National social security systems that are sensitive to children’s needs and help fight child labour.

Social protection that reaches out to especially vulnerable groups of children.